Arranging and feeding apparatus



Dec. 5, 1950 1.. E. DAVIES 2,532,760

ARRANGING AND FEEDING APPARATUS Filed July 10, 1944'. s sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR.

' BY A Dec. 5, 1950 E. DAVIES "ARRANGING AND FEEDING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 10, 1944 INVENTOR. @7221 E Hal/Z65, BY 6 W, uaf .ea Am a ShetS-Sheet 5 Dec.'5, 1950 L. E. DAVIES--- I meme AND FEEDING APPARATUS Filed July 10, 1944 INVENTOR. I 72/2 1? Dam/'65,

Patented Dec. 5, 1950 UNITED- STAT ES PATENT" OFELCE.

Lynn E. Davies, ParkRidge, Ill., assignor toWhite- Gap (Company, Chicago, Ill.,. a, corporation of.

Delaware Appli'cafiion July 150} 1944 Serial Nb. 544,305

1.4 Claims.- I;

This invention relates to apparatus: for the sorting of identical: articles from a. random or promiscuous:relationshipand'the positioning-andfeeding of them: in a regular or. uniform relatinnship wherein their attitudinal disposal: is the? same. Moreaparticularlyg.itipertains to apparatus: which may beiemployeds for thearra-nging and feeding of identical: closure caps. for receptacles or the like: from a jumbled or indiscriminate. association: to a. regular or uniform arran e t in. which all'are disposed-withtheir tops presented in the same direction.

The: general. obj ectn oi the. invention is the1pr0- vision of such. apparatus which will? accomplish: suchapositioning ands-feeding: of the. articles: very. rapidlyfrom; a. jumbled: orindis'criminate rela-- tionship into. a. continuous; progressively-moving series automatically and very rapidly and with minimum handling: or tumbling. oi. the articles.

Another. object is: the provision: of apparatus. which will be: effectivev to position. and: discharge; articlesvery rapidly andlcontinuously into a series. wherein their attitudinal.= disposal is uniform,-. from: a. hopper: wheneirrthey: are originally 'ass sociated in indiscriminate; and: random; relatione shim There are: varihusv types. of: hopper devices. hnowniimtlre art-which aredesigned; for the-purpose'oi arrangingrclnsure in: auniiorin series from arandom or: jumbled: relationship.- in the: hopper:. Most of." these: depend: uponl tumbling ot the articles: in hopperuntit they attain a. oer-- tain; selected; position. wherein they may b discharged from the hopper. Because of the: fact that attainment of the selected: position. is. left pretty'muchto. chance; theoutput: of such- Inachines: is:- likely: to: be. very:- slow'inrelation to the amount: of. tumbling to which: the articles. are subjected. in. the hopper.- Suclr. tumbling; particularly: in". the: case. of articles which are made of: light". metal and: which may have protective. coatings; ofilacqner-a-nd the like,v is likely tore-- sult in. defacementior injury,- to the articles if it is=violent or prolonged;- 'llhczpresentrapparatusis designed to obtain rapid; discharge; and feeding of the articles licorm the: hopper by; facilitating their movement: to the. selected discharge. p051? tion and: their: feeding; movement. and discharge therefrom.

Various. other" objects: and; advantages of the present; inventiom will. be; pointed out orindicated" hereinafter or will be apparent; toone skilled in the art upomactual user-oi: it;

accompanying drawings; show: apparatus representing one term: in whichtha invention.

may be embodied. It; isv to; be. understood. that: this and the following; description, of it are prosented for purpose of illustration merely; and; are not: tobe, construed ini any fashion torthe purpose of' limiting: the appended claims short of the trueand most comprehensive scopeoi the invention. in the art.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1. represents: a front or elevational view oi: a. hopper device embodying the invention, certain parts being. shown in section on-l-ine I-lof Fig. 2-

and certain parts being... broken away to showothers which are behindthem;

Fig; 2 is a side elevational section taken gen-- erallyon the line- 2-201? Fig. 1.;

Fig. 3 is a. sectional detail onan. enlargedsoale. such as might. be seen on approximately line 3.-'--& of Fig.v 1;

Fig. 4 is. a sectional detail on an. enlarged scale! of theportion subtended within the brace 4 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5- is a sectional detail on an enlargedscale such as might be seen atline 5-5 of Fig. l, with a closure cap in selected discharge position;

Fig. 6 is a similar sectional detail such as might. be. seen at 6-6 in Fig. 1, with a cap in inverted position;

Fig. 7 is a sectional, detail illustrating certain associated parts of the apparatus with. an inter-- changeable selector ring;

Fig. 8. is a. side elevational view of. a bottle closure cap; for which the: selector ring illustrated.

in Fig. 7 is designed;

Fig. 9: is a iront; or face View of a. directing member;

Fig. 10: is; a. top view of; same;

Fig... 11. is a sectional detail view illustrating the. cooperationof the directing member: with an associated part of the. apparatus and with a closure cap, the-.- directing member" beingshown. in section on approximately line ti -H: of Fig. 9; and

Fig. I2 i a similar detail showing the partsin; association with a closure cap in an. inverted position, the section through the directing member being taken on approximately line Ill-4 2 of'Fig; 9;.

For the purpose of positioning articles; such: as closure caps, uniformly-for packaging orfor sup" plying a cap-applying machine or the like, it is desirable that they be positioned? uniiormly'as-toattitude, for example, with: their tops allpro:- sented in. the same direction. In the following: description of. the. illustrative: apparatus shown in'the dra ngs, IlWilTl'refer tosuclrattituda as the right-side-up position, regardless of or not the tops are actually presented upwardly or otherwise in the particular instance.

As indicated above, the present apparatus is designed to arrange articles in right-side-up position and to dispose them in series for feed to a desired location. The particular nature of the invention will be most quickly ascertained from a consideration of this illustrative embodiment in detail. V

The hopper apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is designed to be mounted in association with a machine for applying closure caps to jars, bottles or the like. It comprises a supporting member or standard l5 upon which are fixed three spider arms I8 extending in radial directions from a hopper post H. The standard is arranged to support these members in sloping positions inclined approximately as illustrated in Fig. 2. Upon the hopper post ll is rotatably journaled a hub l8 which carries a circular hopper bottom plate l9 which extends normal to the post I! and carries a belt sheave 20. A generally cylindrical hopper 2| is fixedly mounted on the hopper bottom plate concentrically with the post I? and secured to said plate by screws 22, spacing blocks 24 being interposed between the bottom plate and the hopper at widely separated locations for the purpose of spacing the rearward rim of the hopper away from the plate [9. The front of the hopper 2| is open and over the lower portion of it is supported a funnel 25 which is mounted on an extension ll of the post l1. Within the hopper and disposed concentrically with the post I! is an annular gauge plate 26 which normally rests upon the spacer blocks 24. Lifter pins 21 pass through the hopper bottom plate 19 and the spacer blocks 24 and have their forward or upper ends fixedly secured in the gauge plate 26, said lifter pins being slidable through the plate l9 and blocks 24 to permit the gauge plate 25 to be lifted away from the plate 19, but the parts normally being constrained by springs 28 to hold the gauge plate 25 against the blocks 24.

Removably mounted on the plate 19 by means of bolts 29 and wing nuts 39 is a gauge ring 3| which encompasses the hopper 2| and upon the bolts 29 are spacing collars 32 which hold the gauge ring 3| spaced from the plate l9. By this arrangement of parts, there is provided a shallow selecting passageway leading outwardly from within the hopper, first undern ath the gauge plate 26, then underneath the rim of the hopper and then underneath the gauge ring 3!, said passageway being open and unobstructed throughout the circumference of the hopper, excepting at the locations where the narrow spacer blocks 24 are disposed. The surface of the hop per bottom plate 19 forms the rear or lower wall of this passageway.

Outwardly beyond the gauge ring 3! is. disposed a cover plate 34 which is demountably and adjustably supported on the spider arms 56 by means of bracket arms 35 welded to and extending radially from the cover plate and received on screw posts 36. It is adjustable toward and from plate I9 by means of stop nuts 31 and wing nuts 38, and on its rearward side it carries guide strips 39 and 46 which extend into proximity with the surface of plate 19. The inner guide strip 39 forms an outer limit or boundary for part of the shallow annular gauge passage that is covered by plate 28, the rim of the hopper and ring 3|, and it extends around the lower portion of they ring 3| from the points 39a to 392). Above the end 3911, the arrangement affords a lateral discharge opening from said shallow passage, and above the points 391) a lateral escape passage.

The guide strip 40 is spaced outwardly from the strip 39 and cooperates with it to define the lateral limits of a shallow downward lead-01f passage which follows generally the peripheral contour of the ring 3i from the discharge opening to a chute 42, and upwardly from the upper limit 39a the associated portions of plates [9 and 34 aiTord an overflow runway passage leading upwardly to a gate strip which is pivoted at 44 to swing inwardly and outwardly between the bottom plate I9 and cover plate 34. The gate strip 45 constitutes a gate member which extends across a portion of the escape passage above the point 391), and it is drawn inwardly by a long and comparatively light spring 46. A portion 45a of it adjacent its swinging end is deflected obliquely across the runway passage.

The gauge ring 3| carries a plurality of gauge elements or contour elements 4'! spaced circumferentially about it, the relative spacing of said elements and their elevational contours being such as to permit passage of the intended articles between them when said articles are resting fiat on bottom plate IS in right-side-up position. Said contour elements may be in the nature of pins, as illustrated in Fig. 5, with portions beveled or reduced in width so as to accommodate flaring portions of the skirt of a closure cap A, as illustrated in said figure, and to prevent passage of an identical article when it is in up-side-down position, as illustrated in Fig. 6. Or said contour elements may be formed as integral portions of an annular strip or band 48, as illustrated in Fig. '7, which band is seated in an annular channel 49 of the gauge ring 3| so that the contour members, which are designated 4'! in Fig. 7, extend into proximity with the surface of the hopper bottom plate l9. Where the arangement illustrated in Fig. 7 is employed, the bands or selector rings 48 may be interchanged to adapt the apparatus to articles of different sizes or contours, the one illustrated in Fig. 7 being adapted for a closure cap of approximately the form illustrated in Fig. 8. Where the fixed pin form of contour elements, such as illustrated in Figs. 5

and 6, is employed, the machine may be adapted for the handling of articles of different sizes and contours due to interchangeability of ring 3!, which may be quickly demounted after removal of the wing nuts 3!].

Mounted on the hopper wall at spaced loca- -tions are radially extending flights 43, and the hopper is equipped to be driven in clockwise direction, as by means of a belt 50 entrained on the sheave 2B and on a pulley 5| which is rotated by a drive pulley 52 through a beveled gear connection. A belt tightening sheave 53 is mounted on a lever 54 by which it may be swung toward the belt so as to bind it in frictional driving cooperation with the sheaves 20 and 5|, or may be withdrawn from the belt so as to permit it to slacken to the extent that it will not have sufficient driving friction. A ratchet member 55 is arranged to latch the lever 54 in the desired belt tightening position.

' In operation of the device for the positionin and feeding of closure caps, the bottom plate l9 and hopper being rotated continuously in clockwise direction at constant speed, a quantity of the suitable caps is deposited in the hopper by being dumped. into the funnel 25. Incident to the roasssgrzoo tatiorr of'the' hopper; the caps arecarrieduplby theflights- 43 and discharged from the flights within-theorbit of the-gauge-plate Zfi-sothatthey slide down the bottom plate l9.- The normal spacing of the gaugeplatei'tirom the bottom: plate It, in thel'ow-er portion oi the hopper, is such. as toadmit-betweenthem-only such-capoasare resting flatupon the plate i 95 Such caps enterthe selecting passage between theplatesl9 and. 23 and pass by gravity outwardly in. such passage and under the gaugering- 3i is rotating with the hopper andbcttom plate, until sucli caps reach thezone cfthecOntQurel'ementsM Such c'aps as-are in the right-side-upposition readily pass' between adjacent contour elements and into engagement with the'guide striped, which is held stationary because of its mounting on stationary cover plate 34'. Suchcaps are-propell'ed up'the guide strip tauntil they reach the discharge passage above 3911, whereupon they roll outwardly into the lead-ofi passage between strips 39 and 40,- and feed down said passage until the are discharged theref'rominto the lead-off chute 42. Such caps as are in upside-down position in the selecting passage-under ring-- 31* are restrained by contour elements 4-! from passingoutwardlybetween them; as illustrated'inFig'. 6'} at the-location 6-B' in Fig. 1. Gonsequently; such-capsare carriedon upwardl'ypast the-point 39a and" after being elevatedto position abovethehorizontal diameter of the bottom plate I9; they slide inwardlythrough the shallow selecting passage and back into'the hopper.

Such isa more or less-conventional procedure for discharging articlesin rightside -up-position from the rotating'hopper'. An object of the present invention is to expedite thedischarge of the contents of the-hopper with minimum tumbling; Experience-has shown that if half'ofthecaps in a conventional hopper" which reach" the discharge point in thefirst rotation o-f'the'hopperarein the right-side-up position; the-operation will shown very substantial decrease in the number of caps discharged with each succeeding rotation; and the decrease appears to proceed morenearly'at a geometric than an arithmetical progression. Consequently, such machines involve a prolonged tumbling of thehopper charge in order to work all of it off. The present improvements obviate that difiicult'yby the con-joint action of" various novelfeatures which have not been specifically referred" to hereinabove. One of theseis'the provision of a novel surface form on the hopper-bottom plate i9, samecomprising the" provisimithereon of aplurality of upstanding ribs orridges Isa which, for facility ofmanufacture; maybe of concentric arrangement. Figs. and 6 show appropriate forms for such ridges orribs. Likewise, a similar ridge or uneven surface formation 26a is provided on the under surfaces oft-he gauge plate; 26 and the gauge ring which face the ribbed surface of the bottom plate Fil While such ribbing ishere shown as concentric; it is obviousthat it may be of radial or diagonal arrange-- ment. Likewise; an irregular surfacing is provided on the under surface-of the cover plate 34 which, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and Btmay-be in the nature of a plurality of spaced individual embossments 34a; In any of said locations it is=desirable that the ribs or embossments have limited height, that their crowns'be rounded and that the intervening spaces be of outwardly flaring" form. Such. surface formation" facilitates the sliding movement of the articles in theshallow selecting spaces leading outwardly from the hopper and likewise -contributesto'thezmobility of'theacaps:in

p or beaded with moisture.

1y, whenracapin-the outermost. tier. reaches the discharge opening atg39a, it maybe subjected: to considerable weight or pressurefrom those behind it,.and if the lead-off passageway below the point 39a is gor-gedwith caps, as may occur if the capping machine has been-shut down momentarily,.theicaps.which are in proper discharge pcsi tion; may be prevented fr-om passing through the discharge opening and may be carried on upward ly. merely to be thrown backfinto the hopper, thus losing their first chance to bedischarged. It is for thisreason that the overflow runway passage is. provided, leading upwardly from the point 39a; When the lead-off passage is filled with caps, those reaching the discharge opening in proper discharge positionmay'still be permitted to move outwardly from between: the elements 41', which they. are likely to do because of the pressure of weightv of othersbehind them; and-they and some of the excess onesahead of them can-findtempo rary accommod'atioirin the overflow runway passage in which they: subsequently can feedcl'own-- wardly by gravity tothe lead-ofii runwa without having to go through the hoppering and selecting procedure again. Those which reach the upper most quadrant of the overflow passage, however, may passbetweenelements 47 and back into the hopper;

The escape passage above 392) and its gate 45 are providedas a safety factor to permit dis chargeofcaps which do not escape from the overflow runway passage inthe normal manner. In

vent the overflow runway passage becomes filled with caps to. the oblique portion 45a of the gate, a

the. pressure of the leading cap against the said 1 oblique portion may cam the gate outwardly against the.v action of spring 4t and permitsuch cap to escape outwardly above 3%.

The ribbed formation of' the plate is contributes to the invertingof caps in the hopper, and hence counteracts the normal tendency to increase the proportion ofupside-down to rightside-up caps, which exists because of the continuous discharge of'the latter;

In canning plants where closure applying apparatusis used; the air is usually warm and fullof moisture from the cooking of the materialwhich is being canned, and as a consequence, metal surfacesexposedin the place are likely to befii medor beaded with moisture resulting from condensation. The ribbed or uneven form of the hopper bottom surface prevents adhesion of the 01 sure caps toit, such as is prone to occur in apparatuswhere the caps are brought into con-- tact with a flat metallic surface which is filmed Asaconsequence, in the ribbed bottom hopper described above, the caps are not retarded by such adhesion against" sliding freei'y downwardly along the bottom wall, and hence they reach a position where they canenter under the gauge plate 26- moreprcmptly after they have been discharged from the flights 43. Moreover, since the uneven bottom surface formation leaves upside-down caps free, rather than held by adhesion of moisture between their tops and bottom plate [9, such upside-down caps are tumbled more readily to the right-side-up position in the course of their movement in the hopper.

The uneven surfacing in the shallow selecting passage under plate 25, hopper rim and gauge ring 3! and in the discharge passage and runway passages, prevents adhesion of the caps to either the supporting or the covering surfaces therein, and thus contributes to rapid movement of the closure caps to the contour elements l? and prompt passage through them, and hence expedites the ultimate discharge of caps from the apparatus. It likewise contributes to free and rapid return movement of the upside-down caps from the gauge passage to the hopper. Hence the ribbed or uneven formation of the cap-contacting surfaces greatly expedites the working-oh of a hopperful of caps.

The spacing of the gauge plate 25 from the hopper bottom surface is such as to admit only caps which are resting flat against the latter, and hence one of the important factors in working off a charge of caps is the promptness with which they find their way to this shallow selecting passage. caps into the gauge passage, and to increase the circumferential extent of the portion of the passage where the caps will be disposed to enter it, a directing member is provided, which may be of the form illustrated in Figs. 9 and 16. It is a generally iat strip of metal comprising a blade portion 55; having an attaching shank 55 extending angularly from it and by which it is fixedly mounted on a collar 56 which is fixed to the shaft extension i? in such fashion that the blade 5 is maintained in proximity with the upper surface of the hopper bottom plate i ii at a location where the blade is in approximately horizontal position and extends radially from the collar 56 toward the plate 25, but with the outer end of the blade spaced from the plate a distance approximating the diameter of a cap. The upper marginal portion of the blade toward which the hopper bottom rotates is beveled or thinned to provide a guiding edge ii? and a thinner guiding edge 53 spaced from each other by a relatively short but substantially wider displacing edge 59. The thinner guiding edge 58 is on the outer portion of the blade and the thicker guiding edge 5? on the inner portion. Some of the caps which are tumbled downwardly along the hopper bottom plate or which are carried around by it encounter the blade as they move downwardly in the hopper, and inasmuch as it presents a low barrier, it tends to promote the tumbling or inverting of them. Such of the caps as are resting flat against the hopper bottom during their downward sliding progress come directly into engagement with the edges 5"? and 58. Caps which have flaring lower skirt margins and which come into contact with the narrow guiding edge 58 while in righbside-up position, as illustrated in Fig. 11, are retained by the blade with a certain amount of persistence, due to the slight entry of the flaring skirt portion between the narrow edge and the surface of the hopper bottom. As a consequence, such caps will be caused to roll along that guiding edge to the outer end of the blade and in rolling off of thelatter will be directed toward the gauge passage between the plateszt and i9 adjacentthe To increase the opportunity for entry of 8 end of the blade. The blade thus contributes to such caps a lateral travel which induces their entry into the gauge passage at a higher point than would normally occur if their movement were solely under the direction of gravity. Consequently, the directing member has the effect of extending the cap-receiving range of the gauge passage in the circumferential direction of the hopper. Caps which reach the edge 58 while resting flat against the hopper bottom but in an inverted position, as illustrated in Fig. 12, are not retained with the same persistence as those which are right-side-up, and hence tend to topple off of that edge or swing away from it before they reach the outer end of the blade, as illustrated in a general way in Fig. 12. Caps in the right-side-up position which reach the thicker edge 5'! are retentively engaged as first above described, and roll along that edge until they reach the edge 58 and thence are discharged outwardly from the end of the blade as above explained. Caps which reach the edge 5? in the upside-down position are disposed to roll along it toward the edge 58, but upon reaching the displacing edge 59 they are either displaced outwardly away from the hopper bottom or are caused to topple on as above described, without appropriating any of the space along the edge 55. Thus the inner edge portions of the blade tend to move the inverted caps away from the center while at the Same time contributing to the inverting of them, but without permitting them to cumber the space along the edge 58 which can be used advantageously for the directing of right-side-up caps into the gauge passage. Thus, caps which enter the selecting passage oif the end of the directing member 5 would almost invariably be in right-side-up position, and will find selecting spaces between the contour elements, where they will be supported with their outer rims against the guide strip 39 to be carried along to the lateral discharge opening at 39c.

It may occur at times that a cap will have its marginal portion caught under the entering or inner edge of gauge plate 26 when the cap is in a canted position due to having an opposite rim portionsupported on another cap. Caps thus caught under the margin of plate 26 might become rather firmly wedged there if allowed to remain, and hence the entry space into the selecting passage might become blocked to a considerable extent. To prevent that sort of occurrence, the portion of the gauge plate 26 which is at the top of its orbit is lifted away from the back plate 19 periodically, this being accomplished when the respective pins 2'! ride upon a roller 60 positioned below the bottom plate is near the top of the orbit of the hopper. When the pin rides up the roller, the pin is thrust upwardly against the pressure of its spring, thus liftin the gauge plate 26 at that location and freeing any caps which are wedged below the portions of it which are above the horizontal diameter of the hopper. It being observed in Fig. 1 that there are three of these pins, such lifting of the uppermost part of the gauge plate 26 will occur three times in each revolution of it. When past the roller, the pin and plate are restored to their normal positions by springs 28.

It is to be observed that the apparatus is adaptable to caps of different kinds by changing spacers 24 and 32 and adjusting brackets 35 on posts 36 by means of nuts 3? and 38. The apparatus is adaptable to articles of diiferent contours by ,9 ,virtue .bit .the .interchangeability of .gauge ring-.3! or, in theinodified formshowninFig. 27;;by' .in-

terchangeability .of Lth'e selector rings; 2.4.8.

Apparatus havingthelfeatures described above andioperating asexplained are effective to work off batches of caps and the like very rapidly and hence with minimum tumbling 'of them. It will .be understood that the improvements constituting .1. Apparatus .forarrangingahd feediirgpredeterminedv articles .from .;rotar=y; tumbling .liop- .pe'r, co'mprising..a. plate.disposed. in aii inclined plane to present an upper surface on which articles in the hopper may move downwardly and means associated with the plate to aiford an outlet passage for the predetermined articles leading from the hopper along the upper surface of the lower portion of the plate, said plate having its upper surface of uneven contour such as to present spaced upstanding contact elements spaced from each other by but a small fraction of the largest dimension of each article for engaging articles in the hopper.

2. Apparatus as specified in claim 1 and wherein the contact elements are in the form of ribs formed on the plate with intervening recesses.

3. Apparatus as specified in claim 1 and wherein the said contact elements are in the form of upstanding ribs formed in concentric spaced relationship on the plate.

4. Apparatus as specified in claim 1 and including means for rotating the plate in its inclined plane.

5. Apparatus for selecting and feeding closure caps and the like comprising a hopper in which a quantity of the caps may be tumbled, a plate forming a bottom along which caps in the hopper may be moved, said hopper being associated with the plate to afford an outlet passage leadin from the hopper along the upper surface of the plate, and the upper surface of the plate being formed with a multiplicity of upstanding contact elements spaced from each other by but a small fraction of the largest dimension of each cap for affording distributed points of support for caps lying in contact with the plate.

6. Apparatus for arranging and feeding closure caps and the like comprising a hopper in which a plurality of the caps may be tumbled, and means associated with the hopper to define a selecting passage leading outwardly from the hopper for discharge of caps therefrom, said means comprising oppositely disposed surfaces spaced from each other sufficiently to permit discharge of caps of predetermined height only when such caps are disposed flatwise relative to said surfaces, said surfaces being of uneven contour such as to present toward said passage a multiplicity of contact points spaced from each other by but a small fraction of the largest dimension of each cap for guiding cooperation with caps therein.

7. Apparatus for arranging and feeding closure caps and the like comprising a hopper in which a plurality of the caps may be tumbled, and means associated with the hopper to define a selecting passage leading outwardly from the hopper for discharge of caps therefrom, said means comprising a supporting surface arranged to support caps in said passage and. a gauge surface cooperating .Withthe supporting surfaceto define the :depth of .the passage, said supporting surface being of uneven contour such asjto present amultiplicityiof contact pointsspacedfrom each other by. but :a' small;:fraction of .the. largest diameter of 'each cap for "supporting cooperation with capsin the passage.

" 8;. ZA'pparatusforgarranging and f ceding closure .caps eand,the.. like comprising ahopper "in which aplurality 'of the caps may .be: tumbled, and means associated with the hopper to define" a .selecting passage leading outwardly from the h-opper.:for' discharge of caps therefrom, said meanscomprising a supporting surface-arranged ."tossilpporticaps in said-passage and a gauge surface cooperating with the supporting surface "co- ..clefinetheldepth of-the passage, said gauge suriace-ibeing .or uneven contour such astopresent a multiplicity of spaced contact points toward the supporting surface.

9. Apparatus for arranging and feeding closure caps and like articles comprising a hopper in which a plurality of the caps may be tumbled and having a bottom wall disposed in an inclined .plane, means affording a discharge passage leading laterally from the hopper for outlet of caps therefrom, means associated with the hopper to provide an overflow runway having lateral communication with the discharge passage and leading upwardly therefrom, said overflow runway leading to an escape passage, and a gate normally closing said escape passage but operable by caps in the overflow runway to permit escape of caps therefrom.

10. Apparatus for arranging and. feeding closure caps or similar articles of predetermined size and form comprising, in combination, a circular wall disposed in a sloping position so that the intended articles may slide down it, means for rotating said wall about its center in the plane of its inclination, means for depositing articles on an upper portion of the wall for sliding movement down it, means associated with the downwardly moving side of the wall to provide a selecting passage for reception of caps from the wall, and a directing strip disposed close to the same side of the wall in the path of caps moving downwardly on it, said directing strip extending in a generally horizontal direction and being of less height than the caps.

11. Apparatus for arranging and feeding closure caps and similar articles of like size and form, comprising a circular wall disposed in a sloping position so that caps may slide down it, means for rotating said wall about its center in the plane of its inclination, selecting means disposed marginally of the downwardly moving side of the wall and adapted to pass caps passing therefrom in right-side-up position and to prevent passage of caps in other positions, means for depositing caps on the upper portion of the wall for sliding movement downwardly on the same, and a'stationary directing member disposed adjacent the same side of the wall in the path of caps moving downwardly thereon.

12. Apparatus as specified in claim 11 and wherein the directing member is disposed to guide caps toward the selecting means.

13. Apparatus as specified in claim 11 and. wherein the directing member is arranged to direct caps in right-side-up position toward said selecting means.

14. Apparatus for arranging and feeding predetermined articles of uniform size and form comprising, in combination, a bottom .plate on.

1 1 which the articles may slide, a rotatable annular hopper for tumbling the articles, an annular gauge plate and a readily demountable gauge ring, all terminating short of and spaced entirely above the bottom plate to afiford a selecting passage of limited depth leading radially outward from the hopper along the upper surface of the bottom plate and extending circumferentially of the hopper, the depth of said passage being such as to accommodate the predetermined articles when they are disposed fiat against the bottom plate, and a plurality of narrow contour elements having a width which is but a small fraction of the distance between adjacent elements mounted in a series on the gauge ring and having lateral contours and relative spacing such as to pass between them predetermined articles which are in right-side-up position in the selecting passage,

12 said gauge plate being located within the hopper, and said gauge ring being located outside of the hopper and beng supported from the bottom plate independently of the hopper.

LYNN E. DAVIES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 887,298 Wilmore May 12, 1908 1,021,565 Wetmore Mar. 26, 1912 1,237,315 Eby et al. Aug. 21, 1917 1,465,897 Edwards Aug. 21, 1923 1,600,715 Cameron Sept. 21, 1926 1,811,845 Folk June 30, 1931 

